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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28002024">how good it is</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/mothicalcreatures/pseuds/mothicalcreatures'>mothicalcreatures</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>IN WHICH, John Irving and Solomon Tozer Have a Baby [6]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Terror (TV 2018)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Domestic Bliss, Hanukkah, M/M, Trans Character, accidental Marriage Proposal, both Sol and Irving are trans in case u forgot</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 10:53:21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,190</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28002024</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/mothicalcreatures/pseuds/mothicalcreatures</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>It was the first night of Hanukkah and Daniel was watching very intently as Solomon placed the candles in their menorahs. The first was the one he’d purchased for the first Hanukkah after Daniel had been the born, a relatively simple line of silver pomegranates, and the second, more recently purchased menorah, was shaped like a pirate ship. That one had been all Daniel.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Lt John Irving/Sgt Solomon Tozer</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>IN WHICH, John Irving and Solomon Tozer Have a Baby [6]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1679731</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Festival of Lights Fest, The Terror Bingo (2020)</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>how good it is</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Happy Hanukkah! I'm back at it again with these boys. Written for The Terror Bingo prompt "dining room" and the Festival of Lights Fest prompt "candlelight." </p>
<p>If this is your first time reading from this series all you really need to know is that both Solomon and John are trans, and John was the one who carried Daniel and his pregnancy was the utterly unplanned result of a condom breaking during a foursome with Sol and two cis men. </p>
<p>The title comes from the traditional hymn Hine Ma Tov, but in this case specifically from <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Vqnm54FDGo">Brothers and Sisters (Hine Ma Tov) by Nefesh Mountain</a></p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="p1">It was the first night of Hanukkah and Daniel was watching very intently as Solomon placed the candles in their menorahs. The first menorah was the one he’d purchased for the first Hanukkah after Daniel had been the born, a relatively simple line of silver pomegranates, and the second, more recently purchased menorah, was shaped like a pirate ship. That one had been all Daniel.</p>
<p class="p1">Solomon’s mother had taken Daniel out shopping for Hanukkah things one day while she was babysitting him and Daniel had become utterly enamored with a pirate ship menorah at the judaica store they had gone to for candles. Solomon will never know how his mother had managed to get Daniel to leave the store without the menorah and without Daniel dissolving into tears. Still, Daniel had talked about it so enthusiastically that Solomon had gone back for it the following week.</p>
<p class="p1">“Can I light candles?” Daniel asked quietly, causing Solomon to look up.</p>
<p class="p1">He grinned. “Course you can, it’s your menorah, isn’t it? Now go wash your hands, your dad’s almost done with dinner.”</p>
<p class="p1">Daniel hopped off his chair and all but ran to the bathroom.</p>
<p class="p1">As if on cue, John walked into the dining room balancing a plate heaped high with latkes and bowls of sour cream and applesauce. “You’re cooking tomorrow night,” John muttered and Solomon chuckled. “You make deep frying these things look so easy, mine kept falling apart.”</p>
<p class="p1">“You won’t get any better if you don’t practice,” Solomon said, still smiling as he moved the menorahs so John could set the food on the table. “But, all right, I’ll cook tomorrow.”</p>
<p class="p1">Daniel came bounding back into the dining room then and grabbed the edge of Solomon’s shirt with very wet hands. “Candle time!”</p>
<p class="p1">“Almost,” Solomon said, scooping Daniel up with a grunt. “Dinner first. Do you think you can be a big boy and carry the green beans?”</p>
<p class="p1">John swept in to kiss Daniel on the cheek before letting Solomon leave for the kitchen. “They’re already in a bowl, and if could get the plates and utensils too.”</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">Dinner was an exercise in keeping Daniel distracted from lighting the candles long enough for him to eat dinner. Not even the tried and true “no dessert until you’ve had your dinner, and yes your chocolate gelt counts as dessert” was working particularly well, but eventually, dinner was well enough over and Solomon carted their dishes into the kitchen—to be dealt with tomorrow.</p>
<p class="p1">When Solomon made his way back into the dining room, he found that John had managed to rope Daniel into playing dreidel, though this was abandoned the moment Daniel saw Solomon.</p>
<p class="p1">Daniel jumped out his chair. “Candles!”</p>
<p class="p1">“Yes!” Solomon grinned and scooped Daniel up into his arms again. “Time to light the candles.”</p>
<p class="p1">He huffed as he adjusted Daniel on his hip, he was getting so big. “Hey John, could you pull a chair over to the window for him?”</p>
<p class="p1">John nodded and hauled his own chair over to the window.</p>
<p class="p1">When Solomon set Daniel down on the chair, Daniel immediately reached for the matches, but John was able to grab them before he got there.</p>
<p class="p1">“Wait a minute, we have to say the blessings first,” John said, laughing a little under his breath. “And then you’re going to let papa light the shamash.”</p>
<p class="p1">Daniel nodded seriously. “Right.”</p>
<p class="p1">“Do you remember how they go?” Solomon asked.</p>
<p class="p1">Daniel thought for several moments before shaking his head.</p>
<p class="p1">“That’s okay.” Solomon ruffled Daniel’s hair. “I think you’ll recognize most of the words.”</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">After the blessings Solomon struck the match and lit the shamash that stuck up out of the head of the pirate of Daniel’s menorah.</p>
<p class="p1">Daniel was positively vibrating with excitement, but he looked to Solomon for permission before reaching for the candle, which Solomon was very grateful for.</p>
<p class="p1">“Gently now,” Solomon said, guiding Daniel’s hand as he ever so carefully picked up the shamash, and he continued to guide Daniel as he reached over to light the single other candle in the menorah.</p>
<p class="p1">When Solomon went to take the candle to put it back in place, Daniel shook his head. “I can put it back.”</p>
<p class="p1">Solomon couldn’t help the proud grin that grew on his face, and he took a step back to let Daniel take charge himself. With his tongue sticking out in determination, Daniel gingerly set the shamash back in its place. Then he stood back and beamed at Solomon. “I did it!”</p>
<p class="p1">Solomon laughed. “You did! Good job!”</p>
<p class="p1">Daniel held out his arms to be lifted and John took his turn picking him up, while Solomon made quick work of lighting their other menorah.</p>
<p class="p1">“Now let’s put on some Hanukkah music and see who can get the most gelt, hm?” Solomon said, tweaking Daniel’s nose and making him burst into a fit of giggles</p>
<p class="p1">“I got all of Daddy’s!” Daniel said, after he’d recovered himself, and Solomon looked over at John bemused.</p>
<p class="p1">John just shrugged. “I’ve never been any good at spinning tops.”</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">Later, once Daniel was thoroughly tuckered out from dancing and eating an unreasonable amount of gelt, and subsequently trundled off to bed, Solomon sat quietly with John at the dining room table nursing a beer and watching the candles flicker in the window.</p>
<p class="p1">John let out a long sigh, and worried the stem of his own glass of wine.</p>
<p class="p1">“Everything alright,” Solomon asked.</p>
<p class="p1">John startled like he hadn’t been expecting any response. “Oh. Yes, yes, everything’s fine I was just thinking.”</p>
<p class="p1">“About?”</p>
<p class="p1">“How blessed I am to have this.” John cleared his throat. “You and Danny are the best things that have ever happened to me and its times like this that remind me of that.”</p>
<p class="p1">Solomon reached over the table to take John’s hand, and John relinquished it easily. He ran his thumb over John’s knuckles for a few moments before replying. “I’m glad you feel that way, I have to admit there’s part of me that still worries that eventually you’ll get sick of me or you’ll decide you actually don’t want to raise Danny Jewish.”</p>
<p class="p1">The worries had lessened the more time passed, but they could still often be found buzzing in the back of his mind, especially considering that they were technically still only dating.</p>
<p class="p1">John hummed softly, withdrawing his hand from Solomon’s to pick up his wine glass again. “Are… do you know if our rabbi would marry an interfaith couple?”</p>
<p class="p1">Solomon blinked, taking a moment to process what John had just said. “John… are you asking me to marry you?”</p>
<p class="p1">John had been in the middle of taking a sip wine and he choked, flushing just about as red as his wine. “I had been thinking about it,” he admitted, once he’d stopped coughing. “Though I hadn’t really realized how obvious asking about interfaith marriage would sound. I’d wanted to make more of a… a gesture.”</p>
<p class="p1">“Well," Solomon said, smirking, "given how our relationship has happened, I think it’s fitting for you to accidentally propose.”</p>
<p class="p1">John hid his face in his wine glass, but Solomon could see he was laughing quietly.</p>
<p class="p1">“My answer is yes, by the way.” </p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>If you were curious, <a href="https://www.judaica.com/pirate-ship-menorah-22311.html">this is the pirate ship menorah in question.</a> Yes, the shamash slot is actually in the pirates head. I find this endlessly entertaining.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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